Opening a 10 Year Old Sealed Mason Jar

hoosierpipeguy · May 2, 2018

Talking to another member about a trade. He has 10 year old SG FVF that has been jarred undisturbed for ten years. He doesn't really want to try to ship the jars and all which makes sense to me. But he's concerned about what will happen to the still moist tobacco flakes after the seal has been broken and transferred to large zip locks. He also voiced concerns about the tobacco acquiring mold in shipping or dorky thereafter due to the humidity having kicked in.
We're talking a few pounds here so once I received it, I would want to jar it again and open jars as I smoked it.
What do people think about his concerns? I'm glad he is conscientious and don't know if a potential problem exists or not. What about me jarring the tobacco after receiving that. Will it age any more? Will it just stay the same? Will something bad happen? I read some info that says once the seal is broken once and oxygen is reintroduced, the aging process halts.

alan73 · May 2, 2018

Offer him extra money for shipping. I'd want to keep the jars closed. There should be a strong seal on the jars.

hoosierpipeguy · May 2, 2018

That's a reasonable proposal but I'd be concerned the jars could be broken, ruining the tobacco completely and the vibrations could break the seal anyway, thereby defeating the purpose. Have you shipped large, sealed mason jars before with success? How much additional shipping cost was involved? Thanks for your help.

ashdigger · May 2, 2018

Aging will stop. But the oxygen could degrade it a little. This is why using large jars should be avoided. Having said that. Open it and vacuum seal if possible or just put it in double zip top bags.

hoosierpipeguy · May 3, 2018

Maybe we could rent a hyperbaric chamber, create a perfect vacuum, open the jars and transfer product. But then I'd have to repeat that process at my end. Lol Finding a way to ship the sealed jars would probably be best.

jamban · May 3, 2018

If the jars are packed well, it should all be fine. Afterall, jars are being shipped around the world on a regular basis. Just remember to get a fragile sticker or a few of them on the package, and have it insured. This usually ensures that the post office staff don't play football with your precious cargo.

morgansteele · May 3, 2018

My advice is: be honest with yourself. Is this likely a transaction that you're going to be satisfied with? There are a number of variables with buying aged tobacco. So, think through the failure points. And, if you can accept that if things go wrong then that's life, then great. But, if you think you're going to be unhappy, then buy your own stuff and age it.
As Spock once said: "After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true."

hoosierpipeguy · May 3, 2018

Some more good thoughts. I believe I will volunteer adding funds to pay to ship the jars intact
morgansteele, we're talking about a transaction that is less than $400. So it's not life and death. Assuming the other trader is willing to put in the additional effort and make a good faith effort to properly package the jars, I'm okay with the risk. Based on the feedback, it seems like there's greater risk in opening the jars.
The other trader seems like a conscientious gentleman. The easy thing for him to do would have been to just transfer the product to zip locks and shipped it. Instead, he identified a potential problem and suggested we work it out before moving forward. Astute advice on his part. I'm confident we'll work out an amenable solution one way or the other. Either way, I plan to be in a big tent near Chicago by noon Friday, smoking my pipe, making some new friends and buying some pipes. Given the stupid weather this year, I'm a lot more worried about Chicago getting a foot of snow tomorrow and Friday than I am about a tobacco trade. LOL

skydog · May 3, 2018

I've had jars shipped to me before with no issue as long as they're packed well. I've also got some 8+ year old aged SG FVF I cracked open about a year ago and re-jarred and have been enjoying occasionally since. No issue with mold on that 250g block and it's still just as delicious as when I first broke the seal on it so I don't think you really have any concerns either way here.

morgansteele · May 3, 2018

Either way, I plan to be in a big tent near Chicago by noon Friday, smoking my pipe, making some new friends and buying some pipes.

Wish I was going to be there with you all. I'm out for Chicago this year, but in for Vegas. But, next year's Chicago show will be on my calendar. Enjoy!

hoosierpipeguy · May 3, 2018

Skydog, thanks. That's my feelings s will. I've shed cigars in humidor for very long periods of time where I was opening and closing it reasonably often. Perhaps the 100`% ideal situation would be to seal it and leave it. But I somehow think the tobacco would survive and do well by sealing it twice. Not sure, that's why I made the post.

saltedplug · May 3, 2018

There are many ideas about aged tobacco probably because no one understands fermentation. The idea that comes to mind is "smoke all of it quickly after decanting," which would appear to argue that chemical/molecular changes in an organic substance will be reversed by breaking the seal and contact with air, which seems to me so much trash; which is merely opinion as I really don't know. However if applicable then you will lose a great deal by disturbing the jars on the seller's end, even if you jar expeditiously on yours
But I ask you, how can 10 years of chemical/molecular change vanish in a week? Pease impressed the pipe community with the first detailed information about aging in the early 2000s, his ideas about aerobic and aerobic aging one of them. Once the air inside the vessel is exhausted by aerobic aging, fermentation becomes anaerobic. Forcing the tobacco in and out of anaerobic aging by opening the vessel in this case or removing enough of it for a smoke has always seemed unwise to me. The aging results that we are trying to reproduce is that of old tins of vintage tobacco wrought by anaerobic process.
But I'm unsure if this means anything, and after some years Pease softened much of what he said earlier.

smokeydogg · May 3, 2018

I would recommend using FedEx or UPS, NOT USPS. It would cost a little more but the service and tracking you receive would be much better.

mikethompson · May 3, 2018

Millions upon millions of sealed mason jars are shipped all the time with No issue. As long as it is packed carefully and properly there should be no issue in transit.
Remember that the wall thinckness of a mason jar is pretty thick. I've dropped plenty and they rarely, if ever, break.

jvnshr · May 3, 2018

The mason jar in this picture traveled from Pennsylvania, USA to Baku, Azerbaijan intact. The picture is from 2016 Secret Santa event:

mikestanley · May 3, 2018

I recently opened a jar of BBF I put up in 2004. The tobacco wasn’t dry but it was in perfect smoking condition. It’s quite good. If you want to start smoking the tobacco, bag it and ship. If I wanted it to stay in jars to be shipped, I would pay the cost and ask that the kids be sealed with shipping tape or duct tape. There is a reason sealed tins are a better “investment “ than bulk...and this is that reason...IMHO.

Mike S.

perdurabo · May 3, 2018

^^^I agree Mike S.
I would back out or pay more in shipping. Breaking the seal is non negotiable at this point. Those sealed jars are the reason you want to buy the stuff in the first place.

coyja · May 3, 2018

I just received a mason jar sealed sine 2004 w no issue.

briarbuck · May 3, 2018

If we can't ship mason jars, Smuckers would be out of business. Ship the jars.

5star · May 3, 2018

I’ve received sealed Mason jars without any issues. The seller might even go to a UPS Store, if he doesn’t have the appropriate supplies, and have them help him pack the jars properly. I would ship UPS or FedEx with insurance.

Opening a 10 Year Old Sealed Mason Jar

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